Dionysios Epiphaniou

He was the son of Epifanios Dimitriadis and was born in Skiathos in 1802. He studied in Constantinople and in Paros where he became a monk and was named Daniel instead of Dametrios which was his christening name. From 1828 to 1830 he taught Greek in Skiathos and then he returned to Paros where he set up a boarding school. He left that place after his quarrel with the bishop of the island and went to Agio Oros (Mount of Athos) where he became a great priest and was named Dionysos.

From1836 to 1841 he stayed in Fanari (in Constantinople) after being invited by the Ecumenical Patriarch Gregorios the 6th to act as his ecclesiastical counsellor. In August 1841 he returned to Skiathos and became a monk in the monastery of Panagia Kounistra which he renovated on his own expenses. The monastery became a real centre of monk life under his supervision and it obtained social and religious brilliance.

In 1852 he was obliged to leave Skiathos and went to Hydra where he was invited by Athanasios Miaoulis. He stayed there until 1882 when at an old age he returned to Skiathos. On the hill of Profitis Elias he built a three-floor structure intending to use it as a school. Unfortunately he did not manage to fulfil this dream because he died on 30th December 1887.

Dionysios is a member of the last Kollyvathes (The Kollyvathes were monks from the Mout of Athos. They were in disagreement with the other monks as to the day of performing memorial services since they supported Saturday instead of Sunday ). He was a clergyman with a broad education and wherever he went his presence remained indelible. Unfortunately he left no written work apart form two epigrammatic inscriptions on the fountains of the monastery in Kounistra. Undoubtedly he belongs to the nation's teachers like his father.